Labour close to overall Welsh control

12:00AM BST 02 May 2003

Labour have won the Welsh Assembly election taking half of the 60 seats.

That could be enough to give the party a slim majority if an opposition Assembly Member becomes presiding officer - the equivalent of House of Commons speaker. But a majority could still be guaranteed if Labour holds its mid and west Wales seat, which has yet to be declared.

With four seats still to declare, Labour already had two more than the 28 it won in 1999. Plaid Cymru had 11 seats, six down on the last Assembly election. The Conservatives were on eight, just one short of their 1999 total. The Liberal Democrats had taken six, the same as last time round. One seat went to an independent candidate, former Labour Assembly Member John Marek.

The result means Labour could now run Wales alone, without relying on the Liberal Democrats as it was forced to do for most of the first term.

Peter Hain, the Welsh Secretary, said: "It is a fantastic result for Labour. This is a terrible night for the nationalists. Their fantasy of an independent Wales has been buried forever and they are barely neck-and-neck with the Tories.